Blue White Illustrated

KUNTZ Yeah, it de/nitely impacted some things. I'd be lying if I said that the Ohio State win wasn't an eye-opener. I really feel like that was an eye-opener for a lot of people around the country. Then, going on to win nine straight games and all of that, it's no joke that they're on the rise. With them being a top team in the nation again, it made that decision eas- ier. With all the momentum they have going for them right now, I wanted to jump on board and potentially help sway other recruits who are on the fence [and let them know] that Penn State has a re- ally bright future. BWI You mentioned your brothers, Brandon and Christian, earlier. I know Brandon ended up leaving for West Chester, but I'm sure you talked to both of them about the social life at Penn State, plus the daily grind as an athlete. What were they telling you throughout the process? KUNTZ I'm sure a lot of people think they had a big part in this because they both went there at one point or another, but they were honestly two of the least in0uential people that I talked to during all of this. It wasn't because they didn't like Penn State or anything like that. It was mainly because they just wanted to make sure that I /nd whatever is best for me. They knew that I already knew what Penn State is like, so they would always stress to me that I make sure I go to other places and expand my horizons. I was fortunate to hear from teams like Alabama, Ohio State, plus some others, so they really just wanted me to make sure I see all my options. BWI Most schools assign one or two coaches to focus on a player, but Penn State has the entire coaching sta1 reach out to key players at di1erent points in their recruitment. I know they took that approach with you, so how did that im- pact all of this? KUNTZ That played a huge role. When I get there, I'm going to be seeing an as- sortment of coaches and trainers and di1erent people on the sta1. I'm not going to be dealing with just my position coach or the head coach, so I enjoyed having interactions with everyone, from Coach Franklin on down the line. Plus, when you get to know all these coaches, it truly shows how much someone really wants you. I really felt that appreciation from everyone who works for the team. BWI You had a tough year in 2016, breaking a bone in your foot. I know that forced you to miss a lot of the season, so where do you stand now? You played late in the year, but are you 100 percent? Also, what's your plan with basketball and track and /eld? Are you still playing other sports? KUNTZ Yeah, this past season was kind of a downer for me. Now, I'm 100 per- cent healthy, but I still continue to rehab some things and always wrap up my ankle and foot. Back in the summer, I fractured my /2h metatarsal, which is basically breaking the bone in your pinky toe where it connects with the rest of the foot. It may sound minor, but it took the longest time to heal. Fortunately, I did get back on the /eld at the end of the year a little bit, but missing more than half of the season wasn't in my plans. I also kind of played timid at times, too, because I was wor- ried about getting hurt again. But now I'm over that, which is good. I'm playing basketball, and I'll do track again in the spring. I was able to win three district golds. We also /nished second in the 4x1 by a 10th of a second. So I'm really look- ing forward to winning that this year. We should have won that last year. I also placed fourth in the state in 110 hurdles, and we /nished /2h in the 4x100 for the state, so I'm hoping we can improve on those. BWI The schools you liked were excel- lent academically, so how important were academics? KUNTZ Academics did play a big role in my /nal decision. I know that Penn State o1ers a great education, so that was always something that I knew I could fall back on. I really like that. I'm still not sure what I'm going to major in, but I have been thinking about engi- neering. If that doesn't work, then I'd like to look into business management or maybe marketing. BWI You mentioned recruiting other prospects. How involved do you plan to be? Do you plan to reach out to players on your own or let prospects come to you? Also, I have to ask about Charlie Katshir. He's important to Penn State, and I know he's a good friend of yours. KUNTZ As far as recruiting other play- ers, I'm not afraid to reach out to other guys. I want to do everything I can to help. I want to visit as much as I can and help talk to any player who has interest and may be on the fence. I want to try and help as much as I can, especially with the guys who really /t the mold for what Penn State is all about. With Char- lie, there's de/nitely a big part of me that wants him to be at Penn State, be in the blue and white. In the end, he's going to make the decision that's best for him and that's all I want for a friend like that. But I've been talking to him pretty much daily about Penn State and what his thoughts are. That will ulti- mately be a decision between him and his parents, though. ■

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